Detailed Gluten-Free Restaurant Card — Cambodia

Rice-based cooking, one sauce to watch

Cambodian cuisine is rice-based, which is a real advantage: even kuy teav, the beloved noodle soup, uses rice noodles — it’s the broth and soy-sauce additions you have to check, not the noodles. Grilled fish or meat with plain rice and a lime-pepper dip is my anchor meal. Soy sauce is a kitchen staple and contains wheat, so I carry my own gluten-free soy sauce, and Phnom Penh and Siem Reap have international cafes used to dietary requests.

What’s on the card

• An explanation of celiac disease in Khmer — useful where English is limited and verbal requests get missed
• What I can’t eat and where gluten hides: soy sauce (ទឹកស៊ីអ៊ីវ) in stir-fries and marinades, lok lak whose marinade usually contains soy sauce, fish amok that needs checking for flour thickener, oyster sauce and seasoning powders
• What’s usually workable: plain steamed rice (bai) and grilled fish or meat without marinade — salt, pepper, and lime only
• The kitchen questions — including “Does this contain soy sauce? It contains wheat,” and the clean-pan and clean-utensils request

What’s in the travel companion (page 2)

• How I choose: international cafes in Phnom Penh’s BKK1 and Siem Reap near Pub Street, grilled-to-order food as the most controllable meal, and asking about soy sauce in everything
• Six dishes worth ordering, shopping notes (tamari and coconut aminos at Lucky Supermarket and AEON, Schär at premium markets — and bring gluten-free soy sauce from home), and where options cluster — Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Kampot, Kep
• If you get glutened: the green-cross pharmacy (ឱសថស្ថាន), emergency numbers 119 for an ambulance and 117 for police, and why travel insurance with evacuation coverage is essential — medical facilities are limited outside the capital

The honest certification picture

Cambodia has no celiac association and no gluten-free certification — reading ingredient labels is on you. Imported gluten-free products exist in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap at Lucky Supermarket and AEON, and fish sauce and prahok are usually gluten-free (still verify). Nobody certifies a restaurant plate here — the card carries the explanation in Khmer instead.

Format

Instant download. Two-page PDF — print it or show it from your phone.

This card helps communicate your dietary needs. It does not guarantee a gluten-free meal or eliminate cross-contact risk. Always use your judgment, and when in doubt, do not eat. Not medical advice.